Top 25 Poll - No. 3
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Wayland Baptist (Texas) maintained its spot at No. 1 in the third edition of the NAIA Men's Cross Country Coaches' Top 25 Poll, the national office announced Wednesday. The Pioneers tallied 18 first-place votes for 559 points to spend their second week on top of the poll. Not only did Wayland Baptist maintain its spot among the Top 25, but 16 other teams retained their previous ranking.
The top-five remained intact with No. 2 Oklahoma Christian (529 points), No. 3 Shorter (Ga.) (521 points), No. 4 British Columbia (506 points) and No. 5 Concordia (Ore.) (494 points). Shorter collected the two remaining first-place votes.
Of the seven squads that shifted in the Top 25, St. Francis (Ill.) made the biggest leap, while Graceland (Iowa) suffered the steepest fall. The Fighting Saints moved up three spots to 14th after spending last week at No. 17. The Yellowjackets dropped from No. 16 to 20, a fall of four spots.
Climbing into the poll at No. 25 was Trinity Christian (Ill.), taking the spot that Rocky Mountain (Mont.) occupied a week ago. The national ranking is the first for the Trolls in program history, dating back to 1999.
Fourteen conferences/independents/unaffiliated groups are represented throughout the Top 25, with four conferences landing a trio of teams on the poll. The Cascade Collegiate Conference, Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference, Golden State Athletic Conference and Sooner Athletic Conference each have three teams represented.
The Top 25 was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences/independents/unaffiliated groups. The next poll will be announced on Oct. 5.
Notes: (All information dates back to 1999) There have been 30 different teams spend at least one week on the poll ... Wayland Baptist (Texas) is the 14th team to earn a No. 1 ranking and has two to its credit ... Former NAIA member Malone (Ohio) owns the most No. 1-rankings all-time with 38 ... There has only been one program that has been able to maintain the No. 1 ranking for an entire season with Malone accomplishing the feat in 2007 and 08 ... Four teams have started the season ranked No. 1 and gone on to win the national championship: Malone - 2007, 08 and 09; Virginia Intermont - 2005 and 06; Minot State (N.D.) - 2002; Life (Ga.) - 1999 and 2000 ... No. 12 Aquinas (Mich.) is the only squad that owns an active Top-25 ranking streak that has surpassed 100, with 109-consecutive weeks dating back to the 2000 preseason poll ... No. 13 Concordia (Neb.) isn't far behind, with 99-straight appearances dating back to Sept. 14, 2001.
| RANK | LAST WEEK | SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES) | TOTAL POINTS |
| 1 | 1 | Wayland Baptist (Texas) (18) | 559 |
| 2 | 2 | Oklahoma Christian | 529 |
| 3 | 3 | Shorter (Ga.) (2) | 521 |
| 4 | 4 | British Columbia | 506 |
| 5 | 5 | Concordia (Ore.) | 494 |
| 6 | 6 | Cal State San Marcos | 469 |
| 7 | 7 | The Master's (Calif.) | 450 |
| 8 | 8 | Southern Oregon | 420 |
| 9 | 9 | Shawnee State (Ohio) | 400 |
| 10 | 12 | Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) | 393 |
| 11 | 11 | Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) | 389 |
| 12 | 10 | Aquinas (Mich.) | 377 |
| 13 | 13 | Concordia (Neb.) | 320 |
| 14 | 17 | St. Francis (Ill.) | 315 |
| 15 | 15 | Westmont (Calif.) | 306 |
| 16 | 14 | Friends (Kan.) | 303 |
| 17 | 18 | Biola (Calif.) | 270 |
| 18 | 20 | Oklahoma Baptist | 208 |
| 19 | 19 | Southwestern (Kan.) | 203 |
| 20 | 16 | Graceland (Iowa) | 202 |
| 21 | 21 | Embry-Riddle (Fla.) | 195 |
| 22 | 22 | Bryan (Tenn.) | 157 |
| 23 | 23 | Eastern Oregon | 147 |
| 24 | 24 | Cornerstone (Mich.) | 141 |
| 25 | RV | Trinity Christian (Ill.) | 116 |
Others receiving votes: College of Idaho 109; Azusa Pacific (Calif.) 80; Saint Xavier (Ill.) 56; Spring Arbor (Mich.) 52; Morningside (Iowa) 47; Siena Heights (Mich.) 42; Rocky Mountain (Mont.) 40; Vanguard (Calif.) 30; SCAD Savannah (Ga.) 16; Baker (Kan.) 9; Great Falls (Mont.) 8; Berea (Ky.) 7; Doane (Neb.) 7; Dakota State (S.D.) 6; Dordt (Iowa) 1; Goshen (Ind.) 1; Milligan (Tenn.) 1; Cumberlands (Ky.) 1.
